Some network-based computing service providers allow customers to purchase and utilize computing resources, such as virtual machine instances, on a permanent or as-needed basis. In addition to virtual machine instances, such computing service providers typically allow customers to purchase and utilize other types of computing resources. For example, customers might be permitted to purchase access to and use of file and block data storage resources, database resources, networking resources, and other types of computing resources. Utilizing these computing resources as building blocks, customers of such a network-based computing service can create custom solutions that provide various types of functionality, such as application hosting, backup and storage, content delivery, World Wide Web (“Web”) hosting, enterprise information technology (“IT”) solutions, database services, and others.
Computing service providers typically publish data describing the cost of utilizing the computing resources that they provide. For example, a computing service provider might publish data describing various configurations of available virtual machine instances (which might be referred to herein as “instances”), along with data describing a price for utilizing each of the configurations. Such a service provider might also publish data describing the price charged per unit of data storage utilized, per unit of network bandwidth utilized, and pricing information for the utilization of other types of computing resources. Despite the availability of detailed pricing information, however, it might still be difficult for potential customers of such a computing service provider to determine the future operating cost for utilizing computing resources that are provided by a service provider to duplicate functionality provided by computing resources that are operated by the customer.
The disclosure made herein is presented with respect to these and other considerations.